Cable and satellite television allow subscribers to record linear content items to watch at a more convenient time. However, not all subscribers have access to a digital video recorder (DVR) or a personal video recorder (PVR). A cloud-based digital video recorder (cDVR) enables subscribers to store content in the cloud and does not require installation of a dedicated DVR or PVR at a residential or business location. Because content is stored in the cloud, subscribers can access stored content from multiple locations and/or multiple devices.
DVRs and PVRs use one or more hard disk drives for mass storage of content. Hard drives include spinning disks or platters that rotate at high rates of speed (e.g. 5400 rpm, 7200 rpm, etc.). Unfortunately, hard drives are prone to failure which may result in an associated DVR or PVR being inoperable for recording and/or playing back content. One hard drive failure type involves bad sectors that may result in read/write errors. Bad sectors may require replacing an associated hard drive; whereas read/write errors may be corrected by formatting an associated hard drive. Another type of failure involves a complete hard drive failure, such as a mechanical failure for example, where the hard drive is no longer recognizable to an associated DVR and/or external computer.